Author: Steve Price

Sometimes, the greatest joy of flyfishing is the solitude that can be found on one’s favorite waters. Other times, it’s found in the camaraderie of a group of friends, sharing in a joyous experience. The latter was the case recently. Our shop had the pleasure of guiding a dozen friends for four days, along with four of their wives one day, for some great times on the Madison River. The group was part of a “retreat” of sorts, hosted by a local ranch owner, client, and friend of the shop. Following the business of the gathering each morning, the group headed to the river for some afternoon fishing.

The fishing was, honestly, spotty, as afternoon thunderstorms conspired against the bug hatches and slowed the bite. But everyone caught fish, including the first-timers, and everyone left with huge smiles and great memories.

Thanks guys (and ladies!) for a lot of fun on the river. Good company with great clients is always the best part of our job. “Marty the Montajun”

While the bug hatches did slow a bit causing dry fly fishing to be a bit weak, the nymph game was all right if you had a rotation and weren’t afraid to stop A LOT and change your rigs. PMD nymphs, Hogan’s red headed stepchild’s, and P.T.’s both standard and soft hackle all in 16’s and 18’s were all great bugs during the rain. I was fishing these either in conjunction with each other or dropped off of one of Dan’s special redback sz.14 GB CN Superflash Yellow Sally nymph’s.

When fishing small nymphs (or small dries) in tandem, I like to fish the bugs eye to eye so as not to create unwanted drag on the first bug. Just take the tippet about to be used for your dropper and instead of tying the tippet to the hook of the lead fly, tie it to the eye of the first fly. Tight lined through the mid-depth and shallow riffles in the middle of the river, fish seemed to be chasing the nymph rigs as emergers, however dead drifted through the deeper rock channels next to rocks was also deadly. And, while two small nymphs were the only real option in strong gusts of wind, hail and lightning, after the storms had subsided the dries did tend to pick up a bit; mainly the rusty spinners. Since we were doing late afternoon floats (4-9 p.m.) we would get a chance to fish the rusty spinner fall from 7-9. A sz.16 or 18 rust colored mayfly fished in the rock slicks or on the bank, behind a trude, became a great tactic and picked up a few good fish. If the spinner wasn’t working, I would trade it out for a sz.14 gray Delektable halo emerger or olive sparkle bug to match the caddis, which were also either in their spinner phase or had been knocked down by the rain.

GO FISHING!!

Charles P.

The catch of the day and a lifetime for our friend, Joe Irons, is Tamela. We were very proud to share in this beautiful day. Joe was wearing a tuxedo along with a White Delektable Screamer with flowers and a rod tip, nice touch! We had not confirmed that was the fly that landed his catch but it happens to be working right now in the Madison. We had fun with our fishing buddies at the Boulder River table. Here are a few choice photos to enjoy.

Congratulations Joe and Tamela!

The warm weather has caused the bug hatches to pop. The faster, cooler water is keeping the hatches in check. This should help prolong the hatches like Dan said. Caddis are everywhere. Our buddy Marion was rowing and his wife Cindy was the queen catching this nice Rainbow on a Caddis Emerger (Delektable Lime Juice)

Father’s Day fun on the Madison River! … I had the pleasure of guiding Paul and Kevin on Sunday, and a good time was had by all.

The weather was similar to my previous float, with on-and-off rain showers and some fairly stiff wind. The rain was also throwing some color into the river from the creeks, but it had no ill effect on the fishing. The trout were hungry and ready to play.

The fishing in the early morning was a bit slow, but the guys picked up some quality fish while wade-fishing selected prime holes. After a pleasant shore lunch, the fishing from the boat picked up. The latter part of the float, especially as the sun started dropping on the mountains and the light started fading as evening approached, the guys consistently scored on quality fish. A perfect ending to another great day on the Madison!

Because of the varying conditions, a wide variety of bugs caught fish, including the Delektable Screamer in Black/Olive and White, #10 Pat’s Rubberlegs in Tan/Brown and Brown, #16 Delektable Lil’ Spankers in Red and Blue, #14 Serengold in Rootbeer and #16 Delektable Lime Juice: Delektable Flies Gallery

Marty “The Montajun” Authement

Sunday’s float was Lyon’s Bridge to Palisades; fishing was fair. Fish were chasing Zonkers, weighted with a small bead, late in the morning. Closer to noon, the fish were starting to key-in on stonefly nymphs, the Delektable™ Mega Prince Flashback and Pat’s Rubberlegs. It was a fairly even mix of brown trout and whitefish, with the occasional small rainbow. Most of the fish in the morning were found around rocks in the middle of the river and in the shallow gravelly runs. After lunch, we were finding fish closer to the banks and in the mid-depth runs close to the banks. The big nymphs slowed down a bit about after lunch, and the #14 Lil Red Spanker and the #16 Pheasant Tail Lil Spanker were the “go to” bugs until we took out around 4 in the afternoon.

I floated from Storey Ditch to 8-Mile yesterday and had okay luck fishing streamers. The water was green. Got a handful of good fish to the boat and had a good amount of unanswered tugs. I fished Olive in the morning and black in the afternoon; most of the takes were on the tight line/slow strip and came right off the bank. I couldn’t seem to get many fish to chase with a faster retrieve, so I would just cast slightly upstream, put my tip close to the water, bring in slack and just keep the line tight. The only exception was in obvious buckets, where I would put a mend in to let the fly sink into the bucket and then use my rod tip to twitch the fly downstream. My partner in crime threw nymphs a little bit and found fish in the same place (tight to the bank) using a white legged, black body, girdle bug with a sz.14 Red Copper John.

C.P.G.

Guiding on Monday was wet and chilly, with slow soaking rain and occasional heavy squalls falling on us the entire float. The fishing, however, was HOT.

We started our float at Ruby Creek, and the fish started biting immediately. I barely had the oars in the water and I was reaching for the landing net. It was just a taste of what was to come, as fishing was consistent for the entire float, which ended at Varney Bridge.

In the first stretch of the float, there were some decent trout, but the bulk of the rapid-fire bites were smaller trout and really big whitefish. As we traveled downriver, the numbers of whitefish and smaller trout dropped, and the numbers of bigger trout increased. Our best run of trout, size and numbers, came in the latter part of the float, with some of the best fish coming practically in sight of the landing.

The sun also came out in earnest, for the first time of the day, about 300 yards from the landing.

The water was flowing fairly quickly, and we were scoring with basic high-water techniques; behind rocks and islands, tight to the bank, and any and every slower run.

The fish took a combination of #6 and #8 Delektable Hurless in Olive and Grey, #6 and #8 Delektable Flashback Mega Prince, #16 Delektable Lil Spankers in Red and Blue, #16 Delektable Rootbeer Serengold, and #10 Pat’s Rubberlegs in Brown and Tan/Brown.

Another great day on the river. Get out and go fishing!

Marty “The Montajun” Authement

The fishing has been excellent for those who have been on the Upper Madison River from Quake to Ennis Lake. The cfs has been steady around 1,200 at Kirby. The clarity is perfectly clear. The water is not off color, it’s clear. I guided Friday and we caught fish from start to a 19" Rainbow finish. The Delektable™ Mega Prince, Hurless Stone in Gray and Olive, and both in the flashback versions, Lil’ Spankers, the Lime and Orange Juice and a variety of streamer patterns have all been working. We switched to flashbacks when the clouds came. The dry fly bite has started and will only be getting better.

Thank Mother Nature for the moisture in June and the cloud cover that promotes such great flyfishing action. We have guided trips going out every week and will keep you all informed on the bite and hatches. If you need an up to the minute report call the shop 406-682-7525 or stop by.

There have been some big bug (Salmon Fly) spottings on the Lower Madison this week so we should be seeing them up this way in the next 10 to 14 days. Big and small Caddis usually take the lead before, during, and after the big bugs.

Dan

Yes, it’s snowing at Beartooth.

June 5, 2009

Upper Madison River

The Madison River is dropping, down to around 1,400 cfs. The water is clearing, and the river remains nearly void of fishermen, with a few waders in the upper section and the rare boat drifting down.

Delektable Lil’ Blue Spanker

The fishing Friday, as it has been throughout the runoff, was OUTSTANDING. We wade fished for only a short time, being chased off the river by thunder boomers and the building lightning strikes on the foothills.

Our first stop was almost directly behind the lodge, and a short amount of wading produced about a dozen fish, eating the stone fly nymphs — HARD. From there, we drove upriver, fishing a favorite spot between Lyons Bridge and Sun West, which produced several more fish in short order. The fish were still biting the stones, but a few flying bugs also prompted bites on small trailer nymphs. Our third stop was above the West Fork, where the water is really starting to clear up. Several more fish were caught there, but the stop was cut very short by the threatening weather. The precipitation is easy to cheat; that’s why God created rain jackets. But when the lightning bolts start striking the hills, it’s time to get the heck out of Dodge.

The fish were hungry and eager, and literally every bug we tied on caught fish. Our bug list for the day included a Delektable™ selection of the #6 Gray Hurless, #6 Olive Hurless, #6 Mega Prince Standard Flashback, #16 Lil’ Red Spanker, #16 Lil’ Blue Spanker and the #16 Rootbeer Seringold: Delektable Flies Gallery

While we were driving around and wading, our newest shop geek, Charles P, fished for only a few minutes behind the lodge on his lunch break, and caught a huge rainbow on his third cast, which took a Delektable Badger Screamer behind a large rock, cast from the bank. We’re told there was a photo but it was not saved?? Charles P also floated the river on Thursday with his father. The day started slow but picked up, big time, in the latter part of the float when they started throwing streamers.

We also got a report from a good friend who floated Lyons Bridge to McAtee Bridge on Friday, and absolutely pounded fish on streamers. He didn’t keep a fish count, but he was almost giggly, calling the day one of his best ever; and this guy can really fish, so to be one of his best, it had to be an absolutely incredible day.

GO FISHING!!!

Dan, Marty, and Charles P

Late May Early June Continued…

I fished Tuesday and Wednesday on the upper river and it was phenomenal. I also did very well yesterday, Monday, while fishing a short time during lunch. I don’t have much to add to Dan’s latest report except on Wednesday, with the water seeming to clean up just a little bit, the fish seemed to start spreading out a bit; off the bank and into deeper, more descript runs. They were still on the bank, just not as many. In addition, the fish seemed to eat more small bugs. The # 6 Delektable Mega Prince in Olive, the Delektable worm in Red and Orange, and most importantly, the # 14 Lil’ Red Spanker were all unstoppable: Delektable Flies Gallery Fishing started out very strong, with the fish biting the big bugs and worms. There was a noticeable slow-down around noon, then the # 14 Lil’ Red Spanker came out and the bite was back on. At the end of the day, fish were eating caddis emergers, and the # 18 Serengold and Green Sparkle Pupa both popped a few fish.

I hadn’t heard many reports lately on the lower river, so on Sunday night, after work, I drove down to check it out. The CFS below Ennis Lake was 4,110; IT’S ABSOLUTELY HUGE DOWN THERE, SO BE CAREFUL!! There were only a few bank runs, rock slicks and inside corners that weren’t so fast as to be unfishable. Luckily, because of the perception that the river is blown out and unfishable, even on a Sunday, there were hardly any people there. I fished one inside corner, probably three runs total, and hooked 17 fish in two hours. Red and orange worms were king. While it was light out, the # 18 Soft Hackle Pheasanttail hooked a few fish, but seemed to lose most of ‘em cause the fish were bending the little hook in the big water. I caught all rainbows while there was light on the water, but as soon as the shade hit the water, I got only browns. The only fish that ate a stonefly nymph all afternoon was a 19-inch brown, the biggest fish of the afternoon, that ate the # 6 Brown Pat’s Rubberleg.

Embrace the dirt and GO FISHING!

Charles P.